Life: Ted

Part 3 in the Life series.

It was about 7:30 in the evening. Ted said goodbye to his buddy Jim, who he had been fishing with all day, jumped in his truck, cracked open a cold beer, and started heading for home. It was a good day. They caught their limit of walleye and even picked up a few nice perch as an added bonus. It was a beautiful sunny day out on the ice today. They probably drank too much, but they had a blast. The fishing hadn't been this good in a long time. Ted couldn't remember ever catching this many fish. He was pretty excited.

Ted couldn't wait to get home. He was tired. The cold weather and beer took a lot out of him.When he got home, he had to clean fish, take a hot shower and make something for dinner before he could go to bed. He also hoped he could get home without getting pulled over by the police. He wasn't too worried though, he had driven while intoxicated many times. He could take the back roads home, minimizing any encounters with the law.

As he drove, he cranked up the radio when Kashmir by  Led Zeppelin came on, constantly scanning his rear view mirror for headlights, hoping a police car wouldn't come up behind him.

Singing to the tune, thumbs tapping the steering wheel:

Oh let the sun beat down upon my face, stars to fill my dream 
I am a traveler of both time and space, to be where I have been
To sit with elders of the gentle race, this world has seldom seen
They talk of days for which they sit and wait and all will be revealed 

Talk and song from tongues of lilting grace, whose sounds caress my ear
But not a word I heard could I relate, the story was quite clear
Oh, oh.

Ted didn't pay any attention that it started to snow. He also wasn't paying attention when he came upon the 90 degree curve. When he finally realized it, it was too late. He tried slamming on his brakes and steering out of it, but the road was too  slippery. His truck hit the snow bank, bouncing and spinning him into the small car coming from the other direction.

The last thing Ted remembered before being thrown from the truck were the words of Robert Plant as he belted out the words to the classic tune:

Oh, pilot of the storm who leaves no trace, like thoughts inside a dream 
Heed the path that led me to that place, yellow desert stream
My Shangri-La beneath the summer moon, I will return again
Sure as the dust that floats high in June, when movin' through Kashmir.

Ted didn't know that the car he hit carried a young mother with her baby.
Ted didn't know going into that day that his life would be changed forever, in an instant.